Apparatus and method of ginning and delinting cotton



386- 3, 969 L. P. BERRIMAN L APPARATUS AND METHOD OF GINNING ANDDELINTING COTTON Filed Jan. 11, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LESTER e BEER/MANKENNETH 5 LEW INVENTQR:

' Dec. 23, 1969 BERRIMAN ETAL APPARATUS AND METHOD OF GINNING ANDDELINTING COTTON 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1968 LESTER BERR/MANKENNETH E. LEW

ZW/ A United States Patent O US. Cl. 19-41 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Method and apparatus for centrifugally ginning cotton and thelike, which apparatus includes a high speed rotor having rotary brushesmounted thereon adjacent to the periphery thereof, the high speed of therotor imparting centrifugal force to the cotton impelling it toward andpast the rotary brushes, the action of which is to engage and pull loosethe cotton fibers as the cotton is passed thereby, the loose fibers andremaining material being centrifugally thrown out generally in a plane,and means for providing a cross current of air serving to carry awaysaid loose fibers toward a lint condenser with the remaining materialbeing heavier moving past said cross current of air into a collectingchamber.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention relates to cotton ginningand delinting and more particularly to an apparatus and method forginning cotton and delinting cottonseed which employs centrifugal forceand rotary brushes to remove lint from cotton bolls or ginnedcottonseed.

The basic principles utilized in present commercial ginning systemsinvolve restraining the seed While pulling the fiber from the seed bysome kind of mechanical force. This is the basic concept of the cottongin of Eli Whitney. Thus, in most cases, the ginning of cotton utilizesprocesses which are basically old. Although much has been done over theyears to improve these processes, these improvements have consistedprimarily of refinements of Whitneys basic invention. The improvementshave resulted in high capacity gins, but it appears that furtherimprovements to the basic Whitney process are not likely to besignificant due to the physical limitation of making it run faster.Among reasons for improving the basic process is the increased demandfor high strength and long fibers. Such fibers have difiiculty survivingthe rigors of high speed ginning. The cotton industry is aware that newfundamental methods are needed that alleviate such problems as nepping,fiber breakage and lint cleaning. In order to make major breakthroughsin the industry, it has been clear that a different approach must betaken and new methods of cotton processing are needed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present inventionto provide an apparatus and method based on a different concept ofginning and which is adaptable for both ginning and delinting of cotton.The term ginning as herein employed refers to the separation of fiberfrom seeds and Waste material without regard to the cottons orientationrelative to the cotton boll or pod within which the cotton matures.

Another object is the provision of apparatus and method for delintingcottonseed to any extent desired, even to the attainment of blackplanting seed.

A further object is to provide an apparatus and method for ginningcotton fibers which maintain their high quality during ginning.

3,484,904 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 Still another object is the provisionof apparatus and method which is capable of differentially ginningcotton, that is, of removing fibers in a sequence dependent upon thefiber lengths.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus and method whichemploys centrifugal force for ginning and delinting cotton in a reliablemanner and more economically than the processes used in present daysystems.

Still another object is to provide a centrifugal apparatus and methodwhich removes trash during ginning of the cotton more effectively thando present day conventional systems.

For the achievement of the aforementioned and other objects andadvantages of the invention, the present invention contemplates and isconcerned with cotton processing apparatus based on the concept ofmoving cotton material at high speed and removing fibers or linttherefrom as the material passes by, the apparatus including a rotorspinning about an axis and a plurality of spinning wire brushes mountedon the rotor and located near the periphery thereof, the cotton materialbeing fed to one side of the rotor at the center thereof where contactwith the rotor disc imparts rotary motion to the cotton material andaccelerates it in speed, centrifugal force then moving the cottonmaterial outwardly at high speed toward the spinning wire brushes whichengage and tear the fibers or lint therefrom for ginning the cotton anddelinting the seed, the seed being centrifugally separated and collectedin a separation compartment and the fibers or lint being removed by anairstream substantially perpendicular to the plane of rotation of therotor disc and across the path of the seeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a cotton processing apparatus embodying the principles ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken generally along line 3-3 of FIG. 2looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 2,looking in the direction of the arrows, and also schematicallyillustrating the system for lubricating the gearing utilized in theapparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings, there is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 a cottonprocessing apparatus embodying the principles of the present inventionwhich is designated generally by reference numeral 10. The apparatus 10includes, in essence, a high speed rotor 12 on which a plurality ofbrushes 141 and 14s are mounted for rotation, the brushes beingdisposed. between the rotor and a top plate 16 having a central aperture18 through which cotton bolls or ginned cottonseed is fed by means of afeed chute 20. Rotor 12 is secured to a shaft 22 journalled in bearings24 suitably supported on a stable foundation by pillars 26, or the like,the shaft 22 being conveniently coupled to a source of power, not shown,for rotation thereby. Rotation is imparted to the brushes 14 through themedium of planetary gearing housed in a protective cover 28 secured to astationary support 30.

Associated with the rotor 12 is a separation and collection system 32which includes an annular chamber 34 disposed about the rotor andprovided with a seed decelerating and collecting compartment 36 incommunication with the chamber 34, the seed being centrifugallypropelled by the rotor and spirally gravitating in the compartment 36 toa collection chamber 38 from which the seed is removed by means of ascrew conveyor 40, or the like.

Also communicating with the annular chamber 34 is a conduit or duct 44of a suitable type for conveying cotton fibers or lint 46 to a rotarylint condenser 48 with which a roller 50 cooperates to form thecondensed lint into a cotton batting 52. The lint condenser 48 is of atype well known in the art and includes a cylindrical body of foraminousor open work construction, the interior of which is connected to asuction blower 54 by piping 56 for causing a suction which draws thelint to the lint condenser. Air openings or louvers 58 are provided in awall of chamber 34 for the entry of an air sweep in the form of a crosscurrent of air for carrying or conveying the lint through the ducting 44to the lint condenser 48.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be noted that rotor 12 includes asubstantially planar disc 12d and a hub portion 12/1, to which the shaft22 is suitably secured, the rotor being made of any suitable material,for example, a high strength aluminum alloy. It is also to be noted thatthere is an even number of brushes divided into two sets, the brushes ofone set being referenced by numeral 14 the others by numeral 14s. Thebrushes, preferably with wire bristles, are equiangularly arranged onthe rotor disc 12d adjacent its periphery, with a brush of one setdisposed between each pair of brushes of the other set for arranging thebrushes in alternation. Each of the brushes 14 is provided with a shaft60a and each of the brushes 14s has a longer shaft 60b. Shaft 60a and6012 are journalled in suitable bearings 62 in the rotor disc 12d andthe cover plate 16, the plate being rigidly attached to the disc andspaced therefrom by vanes or defiectors 64. Each of the shafts 60a isprovided with a gear 66 meshing with a gear 68, shafts 6% being providedwith gears 70 meshing with a gear 72. The gears 66, 68, 70 and 72constitute a planetary gear system, gears 68 and 72 being fixedlyattached to the stationary support 30 by any suitable means, forexample, a nut and bolt 74, and held in properly spaced relation byshims or spacers 76. The planetary gear system may be lubricated in anysuitable manner, for example, a lubricating oil sprayed onto the gearsby spray jets 78 connected to a manifold 80 supported on the protectivecover 28. With such a system, a deflecting lip 82 may be provided on theperiphery of the rotor disc 12d so that oil on the rotor, whencentrifugally impelled by rotation thereof, will be deflected into theprotective cover 28 and gravitate to the lowermost point thereof forreturn by a pipe line 84 to an oil reservoir 86 for recycling throughthe lubricating system by an oil pump 88 (FIG. 4).

Various tests performed with different combinations of rotor speed,brush gap and speed, and direction of rotation, indicate that the gap orclearance between the brushes may vary and that for a rotor having adiameter of 21 inches (53.34 cm.), the optimum operating conditions forginning seed cotton are a rotor speed of 1,000 r.p.m. with the set ofbrushes 14 operating at a speed of 3,300 rpm. and the set of brushes 14sat 1,500 rpm, the rotor and brushes all operating in the same direction,clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 3, or counterclockwise, as viewed from theleft of FIGS. 1 and 2. The rotor speed of 1,000 rpm. represents acentrifugal force to weight of particle ratio at the periphery of therotor of about 300 multiples of gravity. Thus, the seed cotton isabaxially impelled with great force and abaxially at high speed awayfrom the axis of rotation of the rotor and is literally thrown past thebrushes, the action of which is to engage the cotton fiber or lint, theforce on the seed being such that the seed tears itself loose from theengaged fibers, the loose fibers then being centrifugally thrown fromthe rotating brushes. It is therefore seen that the cotton fed to therotor is thrown outwardly with a force which varies with the speed anddiameter of the rotor. Accordingly, centrifugal force and high speed, asused herein, denotes a force which multiplies the weight of the cottonmaterial, be it cotton bolls, seed cotton or ginned cotton,

4 by a multiples of gravity factor of approximately 200 to 300.

The vanes 64 act to create a flow of air through the space between therotor disc 12d and the top plate 16 and cushion the impact of the cottonmaterial as it accelerates toward the brushes.

With the rotor and the brushes all rotating counterclockwise as shown inFIG. 3, the action of one brush is to turn in the direction of movementof the seed as it moves past the brush and the action of the other brushis to turn against the direction of movement of the seed. Thus, in onecase the rotation of the brush assists the centrifugal How of materialgenerated by the rotor, in the other case it opposes such flow. It isthis brush action and the differential speeds of the sets of brushesthat create conditions favorable for ginning of the cotton. It is forthis reason that the sets of brushes are provided with different sizegears in order to provide differential driving of the brushes.

However, for delinting ginned seed cotton the brushes are preferablyrotated at identical speeds. To obtain black planting seed ginnedcottonseed is fed to a rotor spinning at a speed of 1,000 rpm. and thewire brushes at a speed of 3,500 rpm, both rotor and brushes rotating inthe same direction. The brush action obtained appears to cause the seedsto spin in a vortex, thus presenting the entire surface of the seed tothe brushes. Such operating conditions have produced seed with 99% ofthe lint removed.

It is desirable to girl cotton in a humid environment because themaximum fiber strength occurs at about eight percent moisture contentand humid condition reduces the number of neps. However, above aboutfive percent moisture, cleaning problems increase and a compromise istherefore used for the normal moisture level during ginning with thestandard ginning methods. Nevertheless, with the centrifugal cottonprocessor of the present invention it appears that most trash is easilyremoved and an eight percent lint moisture content will not present thecleaning problem which is conventionally encountered.

Studies on the separation of seed, lint and trash as they are dischargedfrom the rotor indicate that such separation does not present adifficult problem; the airstreams perpendicular to the plane of thedischarge of the rotor have proven satisfactory for lint collection andseparation from seed and trash. The centrifugal processor wouldtherefore appear to have a use for cleaning and fluffing cotton.

OPERATION The method and operation of the apparatus of the presentinvention are believed to be clearly apparent and are briefly summarizedat this point. Returning to FIG. 1, with the centrifugal processor ofthe present invention set for optimum operating conditions for theprocessing at hand, harvested cotton is fed into chute 20 and gravitatesthrough entrance aperture 18, the spinning of the rotor impartingcentrifugal force to the material being processed and centrifugallyimpelling it at high speed toward and between the brushes 14 and 14s,the vanes 64 acting to cushion the impact of the cotton as itaccelerates toward the brushes and to deflect and direct it toward andbetween the brushes. The action of the brushes is to tear the cottonfiber or lint from the seed as it speeds by and then centrifugally throwoff or doff the lint. The material centrifugally thrown from the rotor,generally in the plane thereof, contains loose lint or fibers andheavier items such as ginned seed, dirt and trash. The current of airinduced by the suction of blower 54, and moving in the direction of thearrows A, flows across the material thrown from the rotor and iseffective in carrying the cotton fibers or lint 46 into the conduit orducting 44 and eventually to the lint condenser 48, but has little or noeffect on the heavier items, because of the high multiples of gravityfactors thereof,

with the result that the heavier items continue past the cross currentof air until they engage the arcuate surface S of the annular chamber 34and are thereby defleted in the direction of the arrows H intocompartment 36 where the seed 40 and other heavy items spiral anddecelerates, eventually gravitating to the collection chamber 38 fromwhich they are discharged or fed by the screw conveyor 42.

There has thus been provided a centrifugal processing apparatus ofsimple and economical construction which processes cotton and the likein a rapid, facile and reliable manner; and which consists essentiallyof a high speed rotor and revolving brushes mounted on the brushes, thecotton material fed to the center of the rotor being centrifugallypropelled outwardly with a force which varies with the speed anddiameter of the rotor, the velocity of the brushes being such that thecotton fibers engaged by the brushes are centrifugally thrown therefrom.

Although the invention has herein been shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred method and apparatus,it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scopeof the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosedherein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as toembrace any and all equivalent methods and apparatus.

Having described our invention, What we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for processing fibrous material having lint comprisingcentrifugal means for impelling the fibrous material abaxially therefromin a predetermined plane; means for feeding the fibrous material to saidcentrifugal means; lint engaging means mounted in said plane forrotation about axes substantially normal to the p ane on the centrifugalmeans for removing lint from the material; and means for concurrentlydriving the centrifugal means and the lint engaging means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said centrifugal means comprises ahigh speed rotor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said centrifugal means includes arotor and at least one vane mounted on the rotor to direct the fibrousmaterial outwardly from the rotational axis of the rotor, the vane beingdisposed generally in a plane parallel to said rotational axis.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lint engaging means compriserotary brushes rotated to impel the removed lint abaxially.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said centrifugal means and lintengaging means are interconnected by differential gearing to rotate inthe same direction.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said centrifugal means comprises arotor, and said lint engaging means comprise rotary brushessubstantially equally spaced around the periphery of the rotor.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said centrifugal means furthercomprises vanes mounted on said rotor adapted to direct the fibrousmaterial substantially radially of the rotor.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for separating saidlint from the remainder of said fibrous material.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said centrifugal means comprises ahigh speed rotor, said lint engaging means comprise brushes mounted forrotation on said rotor and rotated to throw off said lint, and saidseparating means comprise an annular chamber disposed about said rotor.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said annular chamber has adecelerating and collecting compartment into which said remainder of thematerial is impelled, and means to provide a current of air flowingacross said annular chamber for conveying said lint away from saidchamber.

11. In an apparatus for processing fibrous material having lint, thecombination comprising:

(a) rotatable centrifugal means adapted to throw the fibrous materialabaxially in a predetermined plane;

(b) means for feeding the fibrous material into said centrifugal means;and

(c) rotary lint engaging means mounted on said centrifugal means in saidplane outwardly spaced from the axis of the rotatable means for removinglint from said cotton material.

12. An apparatus for processing fibrous material comprising:

(a) a rotor;

(b) means for rotating the rotor about a predetermined axis;

(c) means for feeding the fibrous material to the rotor in asubstantially axial direction whereby the material is impelled abaxiallytherefrom;

(d) a plurality of rotary means for removing lint and the like from thefibrous material mounted for rotation on the rotor about axessubstantially parallel to the axis of the rotor and outwardly spacedtherefrom to receive the abaxially impelled material; and

(e) means for rotating the rotary means as the rotor is rotated.

13. A method of processing cotton and other lint hearing materialcomprising the steps of z (a) feeding cotton material generally along anaxis;

(b) applying a first centrifugal force to the cotton material forimpelling said cotton material abaxially in a plane substantially normalto said axis; and

(c) removing lint from said cotton material as it moves abaxially byapplying a second and accelerated centrifugal force thereto foraccelerating the removed lint abaxially in said plane whereby lint isremoved at positions disposed substantially concentrically of the axis,and the removed lint and remainder of the cotton material are impelledgenerally radially outwardly in said plane.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising separating said removedlint from the remainder of the cotton material by projecting an airstream through said lint and remainder of material after the secondcentrifugal force is applied thereto and in a direction substantiallynormal to said plane.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 30,989 12/1860 Ryder et a1. 1991546,280 9/1895 Faulkner 19-42 1,669,632 5/1928 Stuart 19-93 3,133,3185/1964 Neubauer 1980 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,585 1889 Great Britain.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 19-39

